In a recent post I mentioned Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life by Father Richard Rohr*. I frequently refer back to it as the days come and go, and was reminded of its wisdom again this morning as I read today’s Daily Meditation** from Father Richard which includes these haunting words:
Often people will get very adamant about one or another moral issue which usually asks nothing of them, only of others. Or they practice some ritual that asks very little of them in terms of real commitment or change.
Today’s meditation sent me yet another time to the book and I opened it to the place where Father Richard begins his discussion about how the way to go up is often to first go down.
The soul has many secrets. They are only revealed to those who want them, and are never completely forced upon us. One of the best kept secrets, and yet one hidden in plain sight, is that the way up is the way down. Or, if you prefer, the way down is the way up. This pattern is obvious in all of nature, from the very change of seasons and substances on this earth, to the six hundred million tons of hydrogen that the sun burns every day to light and warm our earth, and even to the metabolic laws of dieting or fasting.
Yet it is still a secret, probably becasue we do not want to see it. We do not want to embark on a further journey if it feels like going down, especially after we have put so much sound and fury into going up. This is surely the first and primary reason why many people never get to the fullness of their own lives. The supposed achievements of the first half of life have to fall apart and show themselves to be wanting in some way, or we will not move further. Why would we?
More thoughts on this subject in our coming posts – I hope you will join in the discussion.
*Rohr, Richard. Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2011.
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